15% of transit plebiscite ballots returned so far

Elections B.C. has released its third update on the number of Metro Vancouver residents who have returned their transit plebiscite ballots.

As of April 15, during the first four weeks of voting, 15 per cent or 235,354 ballots were returned and counted by the elections office.

All jurisdictions participating in the plebiscite are reporting results. Here is a full breakdown:

City of Burnaby: 13.4% – 19,363 of 144,075

City of Coquitlam: 14.1% – 12,204 of 86,327

City of Langley: 6.5% – 1,131 of 17,439

City of Maple Ridge: 11.6% – 6,268 of 54,230

City of New Westminster: 4.4% – 1,996 of 45,677

City of North Vancouver: 11.7% – 3,999 of 34,171

City of Pitt Meadows: 5.2% – 671 of 12,826

City of Port Coquitlam: 12.0% – 4,624 of 38,636

City of Port Moody: 4.6% – 1,030 of 22,501

City of Richmond: 12.4% – 15,459 of 124,455

City of Surrey: 14.1% – 41,542 of 294,558

City of Vancouver: 23.4% – 97,208 of 415,919

City of White Rock: 15.9% – 2,438 of 15,358

Corporation of Delta: 8.2% – 5,660 of 68,922

District of North Vancouver: 14.8% – 8,975 of 60,495

District of West Vancouver: 12.0% – 3,600 of 30,067

Metro Vancouver Electoral Area A: 7.8% – 494 of 6,353

Township of Langley: 11.0% – 8,497 of 77,545

Tsawwassen First Nation: 6.4% – 33 of 512

Village of Anmore: 4.2% – 64 of 1,518

Village of Belcarra: 1.8% – 9 of 503

Village of Lions Bay: 2.1% – 22 of 1,068

As expected, areas that are more urbanized and possess a higher level of transit usage have a greater rate of ballot returns. This is particularly the case for the City of Vancouver, which has a return rate more than 8 points higher than the regional average.

During the first two weeks of voting, just four per cent of eligible voters returned their ballots. By the end of the third week, the figure doubled to 8 per cent or 63,663 ballots.

In total, over 1.55 million residents across the region’s 23 municipal jurisdictions are registered to vote in the plebiscite. Eligible voters who have not received their ballots in the mail have until May 15 to register to vote and request for a ballot package.

The ballot question asks voters to approve a 0.5 per cent regional increase in the provincial sales tax (from 7.0 to 7.5%) to help fund the Mayors’ Council’s $7.5 billion, 10-year plan for transportation improvements.

This includes an underground extension of the SkyTrain Millennium Line along Broadway, a light rail transit network in Surrey, a new seismically safe Pattullo Bridge, improved night bus service, the use of a third SeaBus and a significant increase in bus network frequency, including the introduction of 11 new B-Line rapid bus routes.